1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to infant sleeping supports.
2. Background Art
It has been found that the safest sleeping position for an infant is on its side. Among the reasons for this is that an infant younger than three to four months is unable to lift its head and turn from side to side; therefore, laying the infant on its stomach could restrict the mouth or nose, causing breathing problems. Also, an infant lying on its back has a greater risk of aspirating stomach contents that may be regurgitated.
Some supports for infants and other persons have been developed as follows:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,859, issued Jan. 30, 1979, to Hulbert, describes an infant holder which includes a sheet of flexible material elevated above a table surface and having corners thereof attached to spring biased rotatable arms. When an infant is placed on the sheet, the arms rotate over the infant as the infant is lowered to the table surface, arcuately cradling the infant and holding the infant in place. This device is intended for the temporary placement therein of an infant and would not be comfortable for long periods.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,506,396, issued Mar. 26, 1985, to Ritchie, Jr., et al., describes a comfort pillow for pregnant females which includes two, large, symmetrical, spaced apart pillows connected by a thin, smooth intermediate section, the distance between the two pillows being adjustable by means of Velcro strips. A pregnant women lying on her side positions one pillow against her back and the other pillow against her abdomen for comfort. This device would be unsuitable for the support of an infant on its side because of the symmetrical shape of the pillows.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,748, issued Mar. 2, 1993, to Garrison et al. describes an infant side support sleeper which includes a base pad having attached thereto waterproof post and pillow casings. A wedge shaped foam or fiber insert is removably inserted in the pillow casing and a vertical oval foam or fiber insert is removably inserted in the post casing. The inserts are removable so that the base pad with the casings attached thereto can be laundered when they become soiled. The pillow and post casings are spaced apart such that an infant lying on its side therebetween will have its back against the pillow and its abdomen against the post. The distance between the pillow and the post is adjustable by means of folding or unfolding tucks in the base pad. However, the distance adjusting means fails to provide positive locking of the pillow and post at a predetermined distance, and the tucks could easily become unfolded in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,238, issued Mar. 16, 1993, to Clute, describes an infant support pillow which includes two symmetrical, spaced apart supports having facing, straight, parallel, vertical inner surfaces, the distance between the supports being adjustable by overlapping layers of material attached to the lower edges of the supports and having therebetween interlocking Velcro fabric strips. An infant is held between the two supports by means of a strap extending over the infant from one support to the other. The device would clearly be uncomfortable for an infant, as the infant could move its arms only with difficulty and the infant could not assume the normal comfortable fetal position.